CFA vs International Actuarial Exams

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Jehanzaib Zafar

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I am sorry that i made a similar thread in level 2 discussion forum and then realized that this is where i should have started the thread. Anyway. Just a hunch. How does CFA charter compare with the international actuarial exams (administered by the likes of Society Of Actuarism (SOA)). Would also like to know if someone is enrolled in those exams on this forum. How do the two stack up. Do CFA charter holders get any exemptions for these exams? How many exams do you have to clear to get the certification. Would really appreciate if someone can provide me some information.
Thanks in advance
 
I write SOA (Society of Actuary) exams.
You cannot compare CFA charter with actuarial exams since CFA charter is a designation but not an exam.
How many exam you need to write depends on what designation you want to get (e.g. ASA, CERA, FSA)
CFA charter holders won’t get any exemptions for these exams, but CFA level 1 exam is approved for VEE credit(Economics) and level 2 for both VEE credits (Corporate Finance and Applied Statistics).
SOA is mainly about risk management and way more quantitative than CFA (because CFA is not that quantitative), and has different concertrations (they are called tracks in FSA level).
Pension is one of the fields which both CFA and FSA designations are useful.
 
How long will it take to complete the Actuary exam Eddie? I tried researching in the past but it so confusing.
I once saw the exam and it looks quite quant (I remembered there is a question on Markov chain)
 
There are many actuarial exams. So what do you mean exactly?
P.S. I haven’t finished all actuarial exams yet.
 
I mean to get the degree how long do I need? For example in cfa one need 2.5 yrs and frm one can do it in one sitting
 
This varies person to person.
Some people may finish everything with 3-4 years to be a FSA (Fellow is the highest level designation). Some may never be a fellow throughout their lives.
As I know, people in the States usually spend about 8-10 years to be a FSA.
 
One more thing. Only once we are done with ASA, can we move to CERA, and then to FSA (ASA representing level 1 CERA representing level 2 and FSA representing level 3 … of sorts) ? Or they are the choices/paths one can pursue.
 
once you are done with ASA, you just need another exam and module to get the CERA.
However, if you are interested in CERA, you can straight pursue the CERA pathway. Currently there are SOA, CAS and IOA offer CERA if not mistaken.
As for maisatomai question, i spend 3.5 years to get CERA, one of my senior spend around 6 years to be FSA, and he is the earliest to get felo among his badge.
 
ASA and CERA are on two different paths. You don’t have to get CERA to be a FSA.
 
How much does it cost to complete the whole program up to FSA? For example CFA cost minimum 3k to complete.
I am really interested in the program
 
Thanks that quite a big commitment. Does it help in the finance industry other than reinsurance?
 
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